Yesterday morning, after getting my Husband to his carpool for work, giving The Diva her breakfast and sitting down to see how much larger my email box had grown since I last checked it the night before, I checked in at MomDot and found a post about the beautiful Karissa. I knew without clicking on the thread, that it likely wasn’t going to be good news, but I never expected what was written there.

Karissa had taken her life over the week~end.

I gasped. I screamed out “Noooo!” and then I began to weep.I have been crying ever since. I have been weeping and screaming “Karissa, why did you do this? WHY? Why didn’t you say something, reach out? We would have been there for you! What was so terrible about your life that at 31 years old you felt the only way to relieve your pain was to end your life? WHY DID YOU DO THIS?”

I will never know the answer to those questions. I can only pray that she is in the arms of angels now and at peace.

You see, Karissa was more than just a review blogger or a green blogger, she was a friend — to many, not just me. She was always willing to help another, give words of encouragement and had the most wicked sense of humor. And she was beautiful…inside and out. Just ask anybody who knew her.

Imagine the shock, disbelief and pain we all felt upon hearing that she had committed suicide. Not “our” Karissa. No. Couldn’t be.

But it was.

Didn’t we just do this? Didn’t we just mourn the loss of someone in the blog community? So much tragedy…so much heartache….so many vultures looking to get their 15 minutes on the backs of others’ grief….I don’t think I can go through this again…I don’t have enough tears….

The world just became a little darker without her brilliant light. No one knew the depths of her pain…she hid it from everyone. Even those closest to her. Now we are all left wondering if we missed a sign, if we had just paid more attention, if we had not been so wrapped up in our own lives….maybe we could have talked to her. Maybe we could have helped prevent this tragedy…

Sadly, we will never know. That is the insidiousness of this disease of the mind that takes a human being to a deep dark place they feel they cannot climb out of…her pain has finally ended…ours has just begun.

As a tribute to Karissa, our beautiful friend, we decided to dedicate our Wordless Wednesday posts to her as a memorial to all the lives she touched.

This is for you, sweet, sweet Karissa. We love you and miss you. Our hearts will forever ache for you.

A few of us decided to do a picture wearing a mud mask on our faces. You may find this strange, but it is right up Karissa’s alley. She was a beauty and pampering maven. She loved anything that was green, organic and made you look pretty. So here you go Miss Prissy Green, me in an organic mud mask on the Internet. I would only do this for you, my friend. And you’ll be happy to know that my skin is as soft as a baby’s butt now.

I'm Shan and I 'm the creator of The Asylum and a magnet for The Free Range Stupid™. I'm a little nutty, a lot sarcastic and pretty damn smart. I am also a graphic designer, blog coder, virtual assistant, free lance writer and can whip you up a killer resume, media kit or press release that would make others green with envy. Go to Skewed Design Studios to check out my services. You won't be disappointed.

Beautiful tribute to Karissa. She was so loved by so many. The more I read about her, the more I wish I had known her. I will continue to pray for her family and friends during this hard time.
.-= Sara Elizabeth @ Geeky Pet Mommy´s last blog ..How dare they tell me to get rid of my babies . . . =-.